Protector for shoe counter area



June 8, 1965 J. s. BOLDEMANN 3,187,446

PROTECTOR FOR SHOE COUNTER AREA Filed July 20, 1964 INVENTOR.

JANE S. BOLDEMA/V/V J73. w gpW-Z ATTORNEYS ,just above the heel.

United States Patent 3,187,446 PRUTECTOR FOR SHOE COUNTER AREA Jane S. Boldemann, 1279 Bay Laurel Drive,

Menio Park, Calif. Filed July 20, 1964, Ser. No. 383,835 1 Claim. (Cl. 36-70) This invention relates to the protection of shoes and particularly to the protection of a shoe from abrasion and soiling characteristically encountered during the driving of an automobile.

Many people are troubled with scuffing or wear of the shoe which actuates the accelerator, brake or other pedal actuated mechanism of an automobile. In most instances a shoe resting on a pedal engages the fioorboard or covering adjacent the pedal at the counter area of the shoe This engagement is such that in a very short driving period the finish of the shoe attains a worn, soiled and scuffed appearance and, after extended periods of driving permanent damage is done.

It is the object of the present invention to provide a simple, inexpensive easily applied and removed device for protecting the counter area of automobile drivers shoes.

Further and more specific objects and advantages of the invention and the manner in which it is carried into practice are made apparent in the following specification wherein reference is made to the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a protecting device embodying a preferred form of the present invention and designed particularly for womens shoes;

FIG. 2 is a similar view of a slightly modified form of the invention designed for use with mens shoes or with any shoes having a flat heel as distinguished from a high heel; and

FIG. 3 illustrates the device of FIG. 1 in its position of use on a womans high heel shoe.

The devices shown in the drawing are formed or cut from a sheet of soft but durable and elastic material which may be any one of many chemical polymeric foams, polyurethane for example has been found very satisfactory in practice.

Referring first to FIG. 1, the protector for use with a ladys shoe is shown as comprising an elongate body of the material such as described above having a perforation 11 adjacent one end of sufficient size to embrace the heel of a high heel shoe with or without slight stretching of the material as it is assembled in place.

The invention is shown in use in FIG. 3 wherein the heel of a shoe has been inserted through the perforation 11 and the opposite end of the device which is in the form of a simple tongue shown at 12 in FIG. 1 is inserted into the shoe over the top of the counter so that the foot of the wearer holds it firmly 1 in place. Because of the foamy nature of the material of which the device is made, it is so compressed between the foot and the counter that the wearer is unconscious of its presence. However the durable substance completely covers the external counter area of the shoefwhich is subject to scuffing, soiling and ice The modified form of the invention shown in FIG. 2 comprises a body 10', a perforation 11' and a tongue-like end 12 corresponding to the similarly numbered elements of FIG. 1. The device is, however, somewhat larger and the shape of the perforation 11' is. modified to enable it to embrace the larger flatter ty e heel customarily used on mens shoes and on'some types of womens shoes. The manner of use of the modified form of the invention is the same and will be readily understood from the foregoingdescription applying to FIG. 1.

The protector of the present invention has been described and illustrated herein in association with a womans high heel shoe. It is to be understood, however, that it may be used on many different types of shoes including those which have no counter at all. For example, a scuff which has no covering over the heel of the foot may be protected in the upper area of the heel and the rear end of the sole by inserting the heel through the opening 11 and then tucking the tongue 12 under the foot of the wearer. In sling-type slippers, the tongue may be worn in the same manner or carried up and over the sling which is a strap-like member in back of the wearers heel. Also due to the great resiliency of the material of which the protector is made, it stretches easily and sufficiently to embrace much larger heels than the type illustrated in FIG. 3 of the drawing.

I claim:

A shoe and protector for the counter area thereof to prevent scufiing of the counter area which occurs during the driving of an automobile, said shoe having a heel with a substantially straight forward edge and a curved configuration defining two sides and a rear edge thereof, said protector comprising an elongated body of soft flexible durable polymeric foam material having generally rounded ends and having a hole adjacent one end of a configuration corresponding to that of the shoe heel the opposite end forming a tongue, and the portion between the hole and tongue being slightly tapered toward the end of the tongue and forming a protective area, the size and proportion of the device being such that the protective area will overlie the major portion of the counter of a shoe while the hole end embraces and is anchored by the heel of the shoe and the tongue-end is anchored inside the shoe by the heel of the wearer, said polymeric foam material being so highly compressible that a substantial thickness'thereof can be worn between a persons heel and shoe counter Without causing discomfort.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,830,912 11/31 Ramey "36-72 1,916,815 was Smith 3672 2,214,085 9/40 ONeill 36-25 3,063,172 11/62 Beattie 36-72' FOREIGN PATENTS r 632,975 7/36 Germany.

JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner. FRANK I. COHEN, Examiner. 

